Pies win backing for upper crust status

By Nick Britten

12:01AM GMT 22 Dec 2005

Local producers of the Melton Mowbray pork pie celebrated a "great day for British food" yesterday after a High Court judge paved the way for its status to be elevated to that of Parma ham and Stilton cheese.

Mr Justice Crane backed a call for the pie to be made only in and around Melton, Leics, meaning that companies from elsewhere will no longer be able to brand their pies "Melton". The decision is expected to be ratified by the European Commission.

Matthew O'Callaghan, the chairman of the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association, which applied for the special status, said the ruling "marks the renaissance of British food".

He added: "We are delighted. The High Court's decision sends a positive signal to other regional food producers and may well encourage more applications to be made to preserve Britain's rich food heritage.

"We know that the Cumberland sausage people and the Cornish pasty people have been watching this case very closely. It is a victory not just for us but for all regional food, so much of which has been lost over the years.

"The Melton Mowbray pork pie is important and unique. PGI [protected geographical indication] status would protect the reputation and authenticity of our pork pie and give a guarantee to the consumer that if it says Melton Mowbray on the label then it really has been made in our region to a high quality and to the traditional recipe."

Mr O'Callaghan said people in Melton traditionally eat a pork pie for their Christmas breakfast.

"This year it will taste a little different - the taste of success," he said.

The association became so fed up with big businesses using its name that it applied to the European Commission to safeguard it.

The makers claimed that inferior products made elsewhere were damaging the reputation of the pie and the town, and called for a 1,800 sq mile zone around the town outside which Melton pies could not be made.

They won government backing but their campaign was under threat after an appeal by Leeds-based Northern Foods, which makes "Melton" pies at its factories in Wiltshire and Shropshire.

Northern argued that PGI status would not necessarily protect the smaller businesses, which accounted for only six per cent of the £50 million-a-year market, but would give a virtual monopoly to its chief competitor, Samworths, based in Leicestershire, which has 62 per cent of the market.

The makers also argued that a pie made in Nottingham, Grantham or Northampton - which are covered by the zone - was as much a Melton pie as one made in Shropshire. But Mr Justice Crane said the geography did not have to be precisely where the food came from.

Lord Bach, the minister for food and farming, said: "I am delighted that the court has confirmed that the department's decision to forward this application was justified. The Government's policy is to encourage more UK producers to take advantage of the EU protected food name scheme."

Northern said it would be appealing against the decision. Carol Williams, the company secretary, said: "This is a case of EU rules being exploited to allow the biggest player in this market to get bigger at the expense of the consumer.

"We have been making great Melton Mowbray pork pies for more than 100 years. Our pies are very high quality and made to traditional recipes and our customers think that is more important than where they are made."